Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > Special Interest Group (SIG) Forums > Nano Reefs
Blogs FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 03/13/2011, 06:45 PM   #1
keifer_unit
Registered Member
 
keifer_unit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Northeast PA
Posts: 37
Talking 29 Gallon Build

So this is my first post on Reef Central, but been a member for over a year reading others threads and post to gain some knowledge of keeping saltwater and building a reef tank. I have had freshwater tanks over the past years and always thought that saltwater was very hard to keep and too expensive. So last year I plunged in to the saltwater scene with a JBJ 28G CF Nano Cube. I had my problems worth with the NC over the past year and hate how limited you are to what you can do with the NC. So that's why I am starting this 29 gallon reef tank.

I started with a 10 gallon tank that I had for a sump and bought plate glass from Home Depot had them cut it for me for free. These will be used for baffles in the sump


left section will be the fuge, center will be the return pump (Mag 5), and the right section will hold the filter sock, protein skimmer (Tunze 9002), heater.

I have also bought this light bulb for my fuge from home depot for $7. It is a 15 watt, 5000k daylight CFL flood light.


This week my grandfather and I been working on my stand for the tank. I built this out of white pine 2x4 and got the plans off a thread here on Reef Central. I built the panel out of 15/32" sanded pine plywood.










Attached Images
File Type: jpg tank 007.jpg (49.0 KB, 545 views)
File Type: jpg stand2.jpg (68.1 KB, 542 views)
File Type: jpg stand1.jpg (66.2 KB, 541 views)
File Type: jpg stand3.jpg (53.6 KB, 544 views)
File Type: jpg stand4.jpg (58.1 KB, 537 views)

Last edited by keifer_unit; 03/13/2011 at 07:33 PM.
keifer_unit is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/13/2011, 07:29 PM   #2
Dre59
Z&P Addict from IL
 
Dre59's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Laveen AZ
Posts: 1,654
Welcome!!! Looks good..


__________________
20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. Explore. Dream.

Tank info: Mr Aqua Cube 18x18x18 and 15gal sump..

Current Tank Info: It's to small
Dre59 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/13/2011, 07:29 PM   #3
keifer_unit
Registered Member
 
keifer_unit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Northeast PA
Posts: 37
Here is my stand primed and puttied





My grandfather have also been working on a power center for all of my electrical equipment. I have a panel on the left side of the stand that is going to have have 9 switches and 8 outlets. There is going to be on switch for each outlet so you can turn each outlet on and off and the 9th switch is going to be a main power switch. So if you need to cut the power to everything you can just flip the main switch.

Here is the switch panel








Attached Images
File Type: jpg stand5.jpg (68.6 KB, 527 views)
File Type: jpg tank3.jpg (34.9 KB, 531 views)
File Type: jpg powe1.jpg (67.0 KB, 524 views)
File Type: jpg power3.jpg (59.0 KB, 528 views)
File Type: jpg power.jpg (70.1 KB, 533 views)

Last edited by keifer_unit; 03/13/2011 at 07:39 PM.
keifer_unit is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/13/2011, 08:36 PM   #4
keifer_unit
Registered Member
 
keifer_unit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Northeast PA
Posts: 37
Thanks, I am currently in the planning for my internal overflow and was wondering if anybody has any ideas. I was contemplating between the beananimal overflow or durso. I have 1" bulkheads and pvc for the bean overflow, but I have a mag 5 return pump and with the head loss I will have about 300gph and was wondering if the flow rate is too low for a bean overflow? Anyone's advice would be greatly appreciate.


keifer_unit is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/14/2011, 08:23 PM   #5
keifer_unit
Registered Member
 
keifer_unit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Northeast PA
Posts: 37
So here is what I got done today. I started of my painting the power center black, just like the rest of the stand is going to be once I get a warm enough day to do it outside (hopefully tomorrow).

Here is the power center



Then I started on the trim on the tank, and let me tell you one thing, this stuff is not cheap. I paid $2 something a foot from home depot and I just need to get 5ft because I had some other scraps of the same stuff in the garage.


I also cut my 1/4" black acrylic I got from www.estreetplastic.com for a good price. I went to home depot a bought their plastic sheet cutter for $4

Which worked great twice but after that it messed up the third time. So after we had a scrap piece we tried the table saw on it with a regular wood carbide tip blade and it worked out great.

Here are the results.



keifer_unit is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/15/2011, 04:50 PM   #6
keifer_unit
Registered Member
 
keifer_unit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Northeast PA
Posts: 37
So today my grandfather did all the electrical work on the power center.

Here is the power center with 8 outlets for the inside and 9 switches for the outside with main power switch.




I started painting the stand today and got 3 coats on it and I need one more which will get done on Thursday along with the doors.

Here is the stand painted.



Tomorrow I got some shopping to do since Im switching all the plumbing to 3/4". So I have to return all the 1" drain supplies and the 1/2" return supplies.


keifer_unit is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/27/2011, 01:11 PM   #7
keifer_unit
Registered Member
 
keifer_unit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Northeast PA
Posts: 37
So it was really warm here in PA for a couple of days then all of a sudden, 8 inches of snow! So I haven't really been doing much with the tank because of the weather. But here are couple of things I finished before the snow came. I got the doors put on the stand and painted along with the power center on the stand. I drilled the glass and got all the plumbing layed out and just need some gluing. I also bought a 36" Current Nova Extreme 4X39 light fixture. I know a its a little longer but the 24" does really have a way to hang it without modification. So I figured that I will just get the 36" get full coverage of light and if I ever want to get a bigger tank I got the light for it.


















keifer_unit is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/27/2011, 01:46 PM   #8
ange062
Registered Member
 
ange062's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Houston
Posts: 3,223
This is a really cool looking build, very original I think. Subscribed!


__________________
JBJ NC28, Radion, MP10, HOB-1, Mini Arctica, 2LF Phosban 150's
- MARSH May 2012 TOTM
JBJ 3g Picotope, Panorama Pro, AC70
29g AGA Planted FW
ange062 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/27/2011, 02:35 PM   #9
duncantse
Fish Advisor
 
duncantse's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 1,604
Very cool build!


duncantse is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/29/2011, 12:08 PM   #10
duncantse
Fish Advisor
 
duncantse's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 1,604
Any updates?


duncantse is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/29/2011, 02:38 PM   #11
THE ROOK
Registered Member
 
THE ROOK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Springfield, MA
Posts: 2,100
Will you be making an overflow box or running as is?


THE ROOK is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/30/2011, 09:29 AM   #12
keifer_unit
Registered Member
 
keifer_unit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Northeast PA
Posts: 37
Quote:
Originally Posted by duncantse View Post
Any updates?
I will have updates later today because the weather actually got above 40 degrees for once here. I am going to finish gluing the plumping and then I am build a small box on the side of my stand that will hold my Neptune Apex base module and the EB8 power strip. This will keep it away from water and getting damage. I hate to lose a costly item like that to water.

Quote:
Originally Posted by THE ROOK View Post
Will you be making an overflow box or running as is?
I have made a overflow box out of 1/4 black acrylic. I will post some pics of that.


keifer_unit is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/30/2011, 03:52 PM   #13
keifer_unit
Registered Member
 
keifer_unit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Northeast PA
Posts: 37
UPDATE!!!

So today I built a box on the side of my stand that will hold the Neptune Apex Energy Bar 8 and the base module. This was built so that it will not get ruied by any water and I really didnt want to mount it in my stand with the sump or on my wall. I didnt get any plumbing do to rain.

all the pictures are taken with my DroidX and with the sun glare on my phone I could really see the screen that good and I didnt notice I was taking the pictures in black and white. lol










painted tank


overflow box


keifer_unit is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/30/2011, 07:54 PM   #14
keifer_unit
Registered Member
 
keifer_unit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Northeast PA
Posts: 37
So tomorrow I have my dry rock coming from BRS. My first tank I used live rock from my LFS and I got some pest and some nuisance algae from it. So this time Im going with dry rock. It is less then HALF the price of regular live rock and it doesn't have anything on it.
Here is the link for the dry rock Im getting.

Now I just need to get some substrate for my tank and I don't know what I want to get. I was looking at the Carib Sea Seaflor special grade reef which come in 1mm to 2mm size which will be perfect. Anybody ever use this stuff or is there some better stuff people prefer?


keifer_unit is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/30/2011, 08:14 PM   #15
THE ROOK
Registered Member
 
THE ROOK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Springfield, MA
Posts: 2,100
Best sand I've used. It stays down with high flow & looks great.


THE ROOK is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/30/2011, 08:49 PM   #16
MrKite24
Moved On
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 220
Looking great so far!


MrKite24 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/31/2011, 11:02 AM   #17
dnanoreefer
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 14
tank build looks amazing.... very well thought out!!! what type of bit did you use to drill the tank? the intergrated power station is awesome!! i hate wires and power strips all over.. very sweet dude. is it going to be hardwired into your house?? i also build all my own stands but have not ever thought of mounting boxes like that. cant wait to see it setup!


dnanoreefer is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/01/2011, 09:26 PM   #18
keifer_unit
Registered Member
 
keifer_unit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Northeast PA
Posts: 37
Quote:
Originally Posted by dnanoreefer View Post
tank build looks amazing.... very well thought out!!! what type of bit did you use to drill the tank? the intergrated power station is awesome!! i hate wires and power strips all over.. very sweet dude. is it going to be hardwired into your house?? i also build all my own stands but have not ever thought of mounting boxes like that. cant wait to see it setup!
I just used a 35mm bit from http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/...***-drill-bits that was only like $10 or so. Yea I am no electrician but my grandfather is very good at, he did all the work on the power center. The power center has a regular cord on it with a 3 prong plug.

I am going to be leak testing the tank tomorrow and hoping for no drips. Then I will trying to find how I want to lay all my rock out and then filling it with water. I cant wait!


How do you guys start your tank tanks. Do put the sand in then the rock followed by water or rock, sand, water? Just wondering thanks.


keifer_unit is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/02/2011, 07:55 AM   #19
THE ROOK
Registered Member
 
THE ROOK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Springfield, MA
Posts: 2,100
I usually mix the 1st batch of water right in the empty tank. Heat water to temp first. Then add the rock before the sand. this way the rock is sitting on the glass & is less likely to move.


THE ROOK is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/02/2011, 10:43 AM   #20
stevie-o
Registered Member
 
stevie-o's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 338
put egg crate on the bottom first it keeps everything steady. put in the sand next fill the tank a couple inches above sand level than put in live rock, and fill up the rest of the way make sure you fill slowly so you get as little cloudiness as possible


stevie-o is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/02/2011, 04:50 PM   #21
keifer_unit
Registered Member
 
keifer_unit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Northeast PA
Posts: 37
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevie-o View Post
put egg crate on the bottom first it keeps everything steady. put in the sand next fill the tank a couple inches above sand level than put in live rock, and fill up the rest of the way make sure you fill slowly so you get as little cloudiness as possible
I never heard of putting egg crate on the bottom of DT. That is a pretty good idea. Anyone else every tried this method?


keifer_unit is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/02/2011, 05:23 PM   #22
keifer_unit
Registered Member
 
keifer_unit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Northeast PA
Posts: 37
So I actually got a lot done today with the nice weather we have. I started the day off by leak testing the tank and sump. After that I ran the pump in the sump and had an issue with my main full siphon drain actually siphoning. ended up being the end of the pipe was in the sump to far and the air couldn't escape. After everything was running smooth, I drained the tank and sump and hooked up my refugium light. Then installed the Neptune apex energy bar and the base module in the side cover box and drilled a hole for wiring. I messed up on the hole for the wiring and forgot about the 2X4 on the inside so I had to move the hole over an inch. Live and learn. I then looked into storage for my food, supplements, and equipment and decided to build shelves in the door out of a fiberglass rod and bungee cords. Lol sounds real ghetto but worked out excellent.

I know what you all are going to say about the gas on the salt, but my grandfather put it there by accident and I moved right when I took the pictures. Also the salt isn't open yet.

Now tomorrow I will be setting the tank up in the house and I am currently have some saltwater cooking.












keifer_unit is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/02/2011, 07:35 PM   #23
stevie-o
Registered Member
 
stevie-o's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 338
sweet stand i love how well planned out everything is. btw make sure you refrigerate the reef plus after opening


stevie-o is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/02/2011, 09:00 PM   #24
keifer_unit
Registered Member
 
keifer_unit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Northeast PA
Posts: 37
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevie-o View Post
sweet stand i love how well planned out everything is. btw make sure you refrigerate the reef plus after opening
Wow I didn't know it had to be refrigerated. Tossed it in the trash, at least I didn't use much. Thanks really appreciated it. I only been doing reef for a year, so I'm still kind of a noob. lol


keifer_unit is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 04/05/2011, 11:46 AM   #25
keifer_unit
Registered Member
 
keifer_unit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Northeast PA
Posts: 37
S two days ago I brought everything into the house and started setting up the tank. I had most of my salt already mixed up when I ran out. I had a 200g box of reef crystal that I bought and I opened it up and poured the first bag into my storage bucket. when I went to grab the second bag I found that it was ripped and the salt was hardened and the same thing with the third bag returning it on tomorrow. So I laid out the rock and sand, then started pouring in the saltwater. I had everything wired nicely and zipped tied together, then powered everything on. The tank is nearly silent except for the light fan.

I put together an ATO system which consist of an Aqua Lifter, 5 gallon water jug, and airline tubing. I have the Aqua lifter plugged into the apex and I have it come on for 2 minutes three times a day. I will see how this works and up the minutes as needed.

My tank has been up and running for 48 hours and I still have a good amount of very fine micro bubbles. My bubble trap catches all the other bubbles, I just think it from being new water in a new tank.

Here is a list of what I have in this setup.

29G tank (Aqueon)
10G Sump
DIY stand
40lbs Dry rock (BRS reef saver rox)
30lbs Caribsea Seaflor Reef Special Grade
5lbs Rumble rock (BRS)
3/4" BeanAnimal Overflow setup
DIY power center
Mag drive 7
Neptune System Apex Lite
Current Nova Extreme 4X39
Vortech MP10
Tunze 9002 skimmer
Jager 100W Heater
100 micro filter sock
15W 5000k CFL flood light
ATO(Aqua Lifter)
BRS GFO & Carbon Reactor (not installed yet)


So here are the pics of the setup.








keifer_unit is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
29 gallon, diy projects, nano build, nano reef, power strip

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
29 Gallon Aquascaping Ideas? Alunai Reef Discussion 26 11/06/2013 11:44 AM
Allie's BioCube 29 Build fishiegirl Nano Reefs 39 12/05/2010 10:33 AM
29 gallon build kevvcon Nano Reefs 24 03/19/2008 07:16 AM
Reefing On A Budget - My 29 Gallon Build zmazza Do It Yourself 140 03/15/2007 06:43 AM
my 29 gallon build, pics, and advice needed. gfk Nano Reefs 3 07/17/2006 01:32 AM


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:47 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.